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Cyril Neville Rejoins The Original Meters in New Orleans

One of The Meters’ previous Voodoo jams

After reuniting for a performance at Bonnaroo earlier this year, Meters co-founders Art Neville, George Porter, Jr., Zigaboo Modeliste and Leo Nocentelli have played a handful of shows as The Original Meters. The most recent Original Meters performance took place earlier today at New Orleans’ annual Voodoo Music Experience festival. Partway through the group’s set, another reunion took place when onetime Meters’ singer/percussionist Cyril Neville emerged for “No More Okey Doke” alongside the Bonerama horn section of Mark Mullins and Craig Klein. Cyril Neville was at Voodoo for a set with Dr. John earlier in the day.

Though not a founding member of The Meters, Cyril Neville joined the group in the ‘70s and appeared on classic albums like 1972’s Cabbage Alley and 1975’s Fire on the Bayou (as our recent Relix cover story explains, Cyril Neville helped front the band when they started playing bigger gigs with bands like The Rolling Stones). Neville stayed with The Meters through their first split but has not participated in any of the group’s extended reunion tours.